| Grasshopper Film | Release Date: February 21, 2020 | CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
|
Positive:
21
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
|
Watch Now
| Stream On |
|
Critic Reviews
The PlaylistFeb 21, 2020
Aligning itself with the director’s prior works, Costa’s cinematic dissertation on the impermanence of life, love as a sacrificial commitment and the existence of God requires a refined attention span and a liberal tolerance for a slow-burning narrative flow, but viewers in search of a visually masterful and emotionally desolate arthouse feature could find Vitalina Varela to be one of the most thought-provoking international features to debut in quite some time.
Read full review
Feb 21, 2020
By centering the real-life experiences of his actors, Costa’s conscientious cinema lives in a fully humane space. Material deprivation and unrelenting night provide a blackened backdrop for quiet intimacy and dignity. Costa rejects voyeurism and condescension in favor of a form of storytelling solidarity with his actors, one where there’s no buffer of irony, no distancing effects.
Read full review
Feb 14, 2022
Mar 26, 2020
This is cinema that pushes beyond the medium’s usual representational modes, beyond the observational qualities of neorealism or the interior states of psychological drama. Complex histories and unspoken emotions are distilled into a series of carefully composed tableaus, each one proceeding with slow, ceremonial deliberation.
Read full review
Feb 19, 2020
His muse Ventura is there, too, cast as a meta character; he plays a clerygman who has lost his flock and now ministers to an abandoned church that looks suspiciously like a small movie theater. Which is about as close as Vitalina Varela comes to bluntly stating its themes: presence, absence, rekindled faith.
Read full review
Jan 9, 2020
Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
